Lacing device for yarn treating apparatus



June 18, 1968 R. s. SHUMAKER LACING DEVICE FOR YARN TREATING APPARATUS Filed July 27, 1967 United States Patent 3,388,442 LACING DEVICE FOR YARN TREATING APPARATUS Randell S. Shumaker, Saegertown, Pa., assignor to FMC Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 27, 1967, Ser. No. 656,457 4 Claims. (Cl. 28-1) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE For use in a system wherein a yarn strand running from a godet to a winding apparatus is subjected to treatment in a tube-like passageway which has a lacing slot communicating therewith, a pivotally mounted lacing guide is provided for holding the yarn out of the lacing slot during start-up of the winding apparatus and for directing the yarn into the lacing slot when the winding apparatus puts full tension on the yarn.

The present invention relates to apparatus wherein a running yarn strand is subjected to some form of treatment in a tube-like passageway having a lacing slot communicating therewith and more particularly to an improved lacing guide for facilitating the insertion of the yarn through the lacing slot.

The manufacture of artificial yarns such as acetate rayon, nylon, polyester, etc. basically involves extruding a filament forming composition through a downwardly directed spinneret or jet and at some point below the spinneret collecting the extruded product, which is usually in the form of a multiplicity of very fine filaments, on a suitable collecting device such as a bobbin or the like. Sometimes the filaments are twisted together during collection and sometimes not. Since the extrusion takes place continuously and the collecting operation must be interr-upted from time to time, as when a fully wound bobbin is replaced by an empty one, a godet is generally provided between the spinneret and the bobbin whereby the yarn passes once or a few times around the godet on the way to the bobbin during the winding of the yarn onto the bobbin and is permitted to wind around and build up on the godet during doffing or changing of the bobbin. The godet may be employed to impart a jet stretch to the filaments or may serve merely to forward the filament bundle and as a temporary collecting device during dofiing of the bobbin. Between the godet and the bobbin, the filament bundle or yarn is often subjected to a treatment of some sort to change a physical or chemical characteristic thereof. For example, the strand may be subjected to a blast of air to cause the filaments to become entangled whereby the strand acquires a coherency or integrity which enables it to be subsequently handled in the manner of a twisted yarn, without in fact being twisted. This entanglement treatment or others involving the use of an air or steam blast is generally carried out while the strand is passing longitudinally through a tube-like passageway. Often the passageway has communicating therewith a lacing slot to facilitate the introduction of the strand into the passageway. It will be understood that the strand becomes disassociated from the treating apparatus each time the bobbin is changed and while the strand is winding up on the godet.

The usual procedure when changing bobbins is for the operator to capture a loop of yarn from the godet and connect the loop to the rotating bobbin whereupon that portion of the loop being fed from the godet begins to wind onto the bobbin and that portion of the loop extending back to the godet is broken. When a yarn treating device in the form of a tube-like passage having a lacing slot ice is employed between the godet and the bobbin, that portion of the yarn loop being fed toward the bobbin by the godet is usually supported by a temporary guide until such time as the yarn begins to wind up on the bobbin whereupon the operator lifts the running yarn from the temporary guide and places it in the lacing slot from whence it is drawn down into the treating passageway due to the tension imposed by the bobbin. Particularly when the yarn is of low denier the running strand is hard to see and sometimes the operator forgets to lift it into the lacing slot before going on to change the next bobbin.

Often, the yarn being treated has an oily finish or sometimes the finish is actually applied during the passage of the yarn through the tube-like passageway. In either event, it happens that some of the yarn finish finds its way into the lacing slot and after the yarn has been running through the tube-like passageway for some length of time, the accumulation of finish in the lacing slot makes it difiicult to relace the treating device when it comes time to change the bobbin. The yarn will slide through the finish accumulated in the lacing slot and enter the treating passageway if the yarn is under full winding tension at the time it enters the slot but is apt to break if it attempts to enter the lacing slot during the time the operator is pulling the captured loop away from the godet and while under low tension.

It is an object of the present invention to provide, for use in a system of the type described above, a lacing guide for accommodating the yarn and preventing the yarn from entering the lacing slot during the start-up of a winding operation and for automatically directing the yarn into the lacing slot when the yarn reaches full winding tension.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description of a preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

Referring now to the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the lacing device in use during start-up of a winding operation;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view showing a yarn treat ing device with the lacing guide of the present invention associated therewith.

The yarn treating device chosen to illustrate the invention is a tangler indicated generally at 10. The purpose of the tangler is to cause the filaments of the yarn passing therethrough to become interlaced or tangled together so that the filaments are not readily separated and the yarn may be used for weaving, knitting, or the like without the necessity of a twisting operation. The tangler is shown in simplified form since the details there of are not a part of the present invention. However, the tangler may be constructed as shown in detail in the patent to Gilmore, No. 3,333,313. Moreover, it is to be understood taht the invention is also applicable to other yarn treating devices which have a structure somewhat similar to a tangler but which impart some other treatment to the yarn passing therethrough.

As illustrated, the tangler 10 comprises a member 12 having an open sided passageway 14 through which the yarn runs during normal treating operation. A member 16 is secured to member 12, said member 16 having a fiat face overlying the open side of passageway 14. Above passageway 14, member 12 is spaced from member 16 so as to provide a narrow lacing slot 18 extending through the top face of the tangler and communicating with the passageway whereby the yarn may slip through the lacing slot and enter the tube-like passageway, thus eliminating the necessity of threading the yarn endwise through the passageway. An air line 20 is connected to member 16 and compressed air from the line moves through conduits, not shown, provided in member 16 to impinge upon the yarn running through passageway 14 and cause the filaments of the yarn to become intertwined or tangled together. So that passageway 14 may be substantially truly tube-like, lacing slot 18 is little wider than actually necessary to allow the yarn to slip therethrough. As previously mentioned, finish from the yarn passing through passageway 14 migrates into the lacing slot and tends to clog the slot.

Suitably secured to the yarn treating device is an upwardly directed member 22 the upper end of which is bifurcated and which supports on a pivot 24 a swingably mounted member 26. Member 26 is biased by gravity about its pivot to normaly assume the position shown in full lines in FIG. 3. On one side of pivot 24, member 26 is provided with a notch 28 and on the other side of the pivot with a notch 30. As will be explained, notches 28 and 30 constitute temporary or lacing guides. Member 26 is swingable, as will appear, from the full line position of FIG. 3 to the dotted line position shown in said figure wherein yarn running through notch 28 slips out of the notch and slides over an end 32 of member 26 so as to be drawn into lacing slot 18.

Secured to the bottom of yarn treating device 10 is a plate 34- which has an upturned end portion 36 provided with a yarn guiding notch 38. In use, the yarn treating device is mounted by means not shown so that the yarn treating passageway 14 is coaxial with a line extending through the bottom of guide notch 38 and tangential with a yarn delivering godet 40, such arrangement being best shown in FIG. 2.

As previously alluded to, in the manufacture of artificial filament yarn, the newly extruded bundle of filaments usually wind around a godet before being taken up on a bobbin or like collecting device. It is this godet which is indicated at 40 and the bobbin is mounted for rotation with a spindle 46 which moves up and down within a cap and ring assembly indicated at 48 whereby the yarn, designated 49, is traversed up and down the bobbin during collection. The bobbin rests on a collar 50 secured to the spindle and a lacing thong or the like 52 is secured to the underside of the collar. As mentioned, during changing of the bobbin the yarn winds up on the godet. When it is desired to start the yarn winding onto a fresh bobbin, the operator, either with a finger or a notched stick or the like 54, captures a loop of yarn from the godet and leads the loop through stationary guide 38 to the lacing thong 52 whereby the yarn running away from the godet begins to wind onto the bobbin and the yarn running back to the godet becomes broken due to the fact that the bobbin is pulling it in one direction and the godet in the other. This operation is rather difiicult to describe in detail to the uninitiated but is fully understood by those working in the art to which the present invention pertains. In leading the captured yarn loop toward the lacing thong, the operator manipulates the loop so that that portion of the loop which is running away from the godet runs through the groove or lacing guide 28 and that portion of the loop running back to the godet runs through the notch or lacing guide 30. In FIG. 2, that portion of the captured yarn loop which is running away from the godet is designated at 49' and that portion of the loop running back toward the godet is indicated at 49". Even though the member 26 carrying the lacing guides 28 and 30 is normally biased to the position shown only by the force of gravity, the tension on portion 49" of the captured yarn loop balances the tension on portion 49 of the loop whereby the portion 49' is supported in the elevated position shown in FIG. 2. When the yarn loop is engaged with the lacing thong 52 and begins to wind onto the bobbin the resultant tension on portion 49" (the bobbin pulling in one direction and the godet in the other direction) causes portion 49 to break. At this time,

the bobbin is exerting full winding tension on the yarn, thus causing member 26 to dip from the full line position shown in FIG. 3 to the dotted line position, whereby the yarn riding in notch 28 slips out of the notch, over the end 32 of member 24 and is drawn through the lacing slot 18 and into the yarn treating passageway 14.

If desired, the tops of members 12 and 16 of the yarn treating device may converge inwardly toward the lacing slot 18 whereby the yarn will still be drawn into the lacing slot even if it should not pass directly into the slot when it slips from the lacing guide. Furthermore, should the action of the air in the treating passageway cause the yarn to blow out through the lacing slot, it will automatically slide back into proper position.

Thus, it will be seen that the above described arrangement provides full control of the yarn during the startup of a winding operation and automatically directs the yarn into the treating device when the bobbin puts full winding tension on the yarn. In this manner the danger of any accumulated yarn finish in the lacing slot causing the yarn to break is minimized if not entirely eliminated.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a yarn treating system comprising winding apparatus, a godet for delivering yarn to the winding apparatus, a fixed guide in the path of the yarn between the godet and the winding apparatus, a yarn treating device between the godet and the guide, said yarn treating device having a yarn accommodating passageway extending therethrough, said passageway being coaxial with a line extending through the guide and tangential to the godet whereby the yarn may travel through the passageway in a straight line between the godet and the guide, said device having an upper face, a lacing slot opening through said upper face and communicating with said passageway; the improvement comprising a lacing guide for accommodating the yarn running away from the godet during start-up of the winding apparatus, support means for supporting said lacing guide for movement between a normal position wherein the yarn passing thereover is displaced from the straight line path between the godet and said fixed guide and a second position wherein tension on the yarn causes the yarn to slip from the guide and into said lacing slot, and means operable by the tension on the yarn running back toward the godet during start-up of the winding apparatus to maintain said lacing guide in its said normal position.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said sup port means comprises a pivotally mounted member biased to maintain said lacing guide in its said normal position when said lacing guide is not in use.

3. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said support means comprises a member carrying said lacing guide on one end thereof, a pivotal mounting intermediate the ends of said member, and a second lacing guide carried by said member on the opposite side of said pivotal mounting from said first mentioned lacing guide, said second lacing guide being adapted to accommodate the yarn running back toward said godet at the start-up of the winding apparatus.

4. The invention set forth in claim 3 wherein said member is so balanced about said pivotal mounting as to maintain the first mentioned lacing guide in its normal position when said lacing guide is not in use.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,938,257 5/1960 Bauer 57-34 2,949,722 8/ 1960 Henry et al 57-34 2,964,897 12/1960 Bakker 57-34 3,237,269 3/1966 Hawkins 5734 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

IRA C. WADDEY, 111., Assistant Examiner. 

